A double-deck elevator is provided with two cars which are vertically connected to each other. A car arranged above (an upper car) and a car arranged below (a lower car) ascend and descend in a combined manner in a shaft.
For a double-deck elevator, there are operation modes called a double operation and a semi-double operation.
In a double operation, an upper car stops only at either odd-numbered floors or even-numbered floors. A lower car stops only at the other of the odd-numbered floors or even-numbered floors. In the case where a double operation is performed, a user cannot move directly from an odd-numbered floor to an even-numbered floor or from an even-numbered floor to an odd-numbered floor using an elevator.
In a semi-double operation, an upper car stops at both odd-numbered floors and even-numbered floors. Also a lower car stops at both odd-numbered floors and even-numbered floors. In the case where a semi-double operation is performed, a user can move from any floor to any floor (with the exception of the case where a user moves from one terminal floor to the other terminal floor).
Patent Literature 1 below describes a double-deck elevator which performs only a double operation. In the double-deck elevator described in Patent Literature 1, only a destination button for odd-numbered floors is provided in halls of odd-numbered floors and only a destination button for even-numbered floors is provided in halls of even-numbered floors.
In the double-deck elevator described in Patent Literature 1, only a double operation is performed and, therefore, this double-deck elevator provides low convenience. In contrast to this, Patent Literatures 2 and 3 below disclose double-deck elevators which perform both a double operation and a semi-double operation.
The double-deck elevator described in Patent Literature 2, a destination button for each floor is provided in halls. In the case where a double operation is performed, for a destination button for a floor to which a user cannot move directly from a hall, the registration of a call is invalid and information to that effect is indicated by a lamp.
In the double-deck elevator described in Patent Literature 3, a double operation is performed in a prescribed running direction to be crowded and a semi-double operation is performed in the reverse running direction.